Series

If you have seen this one before, please refrain from posting the solution too soon. Please give the others some time before posting the answer.

Okay, I have three numbers that I am listing as a series: 2, 4, and 8. What I want you to do is give me three more numbers that fit the pattern. You have to give me the rule you used in finding these extra numbers. If your three numbers fit the pattern I am using you've won! If not I'll let you know.

Re: Series

Originally Posted by topsquark

If you have seen this one before, please refrain from posting the solution too soon. Please give the others some time before posting the answer.

Okay, I have three numbers that I am listing as a series: 2, 4, and 8. What I want you to do is give me three more numbers that fit the pattern. You have to give me the rule you used in finding these extra numbers. If your three numbers fit the pattern I am using you've won! If not I'll let you know.

-Dan

What exactly is meant by the term "series"? In mathematics, a series typically means the sum of the elements of a sequence. So, are you listing three numbers that begin a finite sequence (and you are using the term series, since it is considered a synonym in the English language)? Or does this puzzle involve some summation of some kind?

Re: Series

Originally Posted by SlipEternal

What exactly is meant by the term "series"? In mathematics, a series typically means the sum of the elements of a sequence. So, are you listing three numbers that begin a finite sequence (and you are using the term series, since it is considered a synonym in the English language)? Or does this puzzle involve some summation of some kind?

Good point. This is actually more of a logic puzzle. Let's try this. I have 3 numbers that fit a certain rule: 2, 4, and 8. The goal is for you to provide three more numbers that also fit this rule. You may have a correct set of three numbers but you need to also have the same rule that I am using. For example the first numbers that people try is 16, 64, 128 using the rule is that all numbers are a power of 2. Those three numbers actually do fit my rule, but powers of 2 is not the rule I am using.

Re: Series

If the sequence is an and then the rule I choose to apply is
There is nothing to infer from the first 3 numbers as we can only speculate, the next numbers in the sequence according to the rule I speculated are -1, 2.5, pi

Re: Series

If the president of the United States serves 2 4-year terms, he serves a total of 8 years. If a congressman in the House of Representatives serves 4 6-year terms, he will serve a total of 24 years, so I guess 4, 6, 24.

The whole point of this is that people, even in the Math or Science community, have a tendency to not deal with other options if they think they see a pattern. (I guess it works better in person than it does on the forum.)

The whole point of this is that people, even in the Math or Science community, have a tendency to not deal with other options if they think they see a pattern. (I guess it works better in person than it does on the forum.)

-Dan

You've basically got us pulling guesses from thin air. We've got no reason to believe any rule is any more likely to be correct than Shakarri's in post #9.

The whole point of this is that people, even in the Math or Science community, have a tendency to not deal with other options if they think they see a pattern. (I guess it works better in person than it does on the forum.)

-Dan

You mean the rule you used was that the numbers were increasing? I think the problem for me was that I did not understand that as people added three numbers, it would give additional information (any rule I thought about would have to incorporate the possibility of their three numbers as part of your pattern). That actually sounds like it could be a fun puzzle. It is like a mathematical brain teaser. Can we try another one where we all come into it with the knowledge that as we guess, we are getting more clues as to what your rule is?